The Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern is hosting a photographic exhibition which documents the gradual disappearance of many of Switzerland’s glaciers. Featuring contrasting photos of Swiss landscapes over the last 100 years the pictures reveal the full extent of glacial retreat in some regions.
See the dramatic contrasts between old and new at the melting glaciers picture gallery.
Photo of the Matterhorn Glacier courtesy of Flickr.
“People are getting fed up with a situation where everyone’s talking about doing something about climate change but no one’s actually doing anything,” says Thomas Vellacott, director of Switzerland’s WWF and the man behind a petition for a national vote on climate change.
Under the Swiss system of direct democracy voters have a right to challenge parliamentary laws or pass constitutional amendments by collecting a minimum of 100,000 signatures to force a ballot. In just 18 months, a coalition of green organizations have collected over 150,000 signatures, enough to force a vote on increasing Switzerland’s current 20% Co2 reduction targets to a slightly more ambitious 30%. The initiative has been so popular that people have reportedly been queuing up to sign the petition. Read the rest of this entry »
For centuries, Northern and Southern Europe have been divided by the Alps, a natural mountain barrier which neatly dissects the central part of the continent, running from Austria, across Switzerland and into France. However, all is set to change with the construction of the world’s longest tunnel, allowing direct travel through the alps for the first time since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
In modern times, trade between North and South has seen an increasing volume of trucks making the long, slow journey through narrow valleys, high passes, and long tunnels, many of which twist and spiral their way through the rugged mountain terrain. At the beginning of school holidays, tailbacks at the entrance to the 15 mile Gotthard road tunnel can reach 30 kilometres as droves of Northern Europeans migrate South for the food, wine and sunshine of Italy.
Concerned by the consequent increase in pollution (amplified as the narrow valleys trap particulate emissions from cars and trucks, which threatens the balance of delicate alpine eco-systems), the Swiss voted in 1994 to limit trans-alpine freight transport to 650,000 trucks per year. Achieving this will involve a massive engineering project, with 2,000 people working on the new Gotthard Base Tunnel, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
You may recall the opening scene in the James Bond Film, Goldeneye, where our hero sprints along the top of a dizzyingly high dam, bungee jumps to the bottom, and subsequently wreaks havoc on the top secret scientific installation within.
Some readers may be aware that the dam forming the backdrop to this daredevil scene, instead of being deep inside the former Soviet Union, is in fact located in the Val Verzasca in Southern Switzerland. Retaining over 100 million cubic meters of water, and generating 105 megawatts of electricity, the Verzasca dam is one of 527 hydro electric power plants which together provide more than 57% of the electricity consumed within Switzerland.
In the interest of bringing EcoWorldly readers first hand and up-close reporting on renewable energy I had originally planned to visit the dam this weekend in order to relate my experiences of bungee jumping off a 720 foot high hydro-electric energy installation. However, in the interests of meeting editorial deadlines I ultimately had to settle with a video from YouTube. It’s worth watching just to appreciate the sheer scale of this installation.
The car is an enduring symbol of personal freedom. Small wonder then, that in many countries attempts to place restrictions around car usage are fiercely resisted.
The City of London has faced stern opposition over its new congestion charges (even being threatened with legal action from Porsche), the Germans refuse to bow to pressure from environmental groups to put speed limits on their unrestricted autobahns, speed cameras are branded as a universal menace and Detroit automakers have been vigorously opposed to a national fleet average fuel consumption figure of 35mpg.
The super environmentally conscious nation of Switzerland puts a healthy environment above the freedom of the highway. This week, motorists in the Italian thinking region of Switzerland may drive no faster than 80kmh to compensate for high levels of air pollution in the region.
After much consideration, the Swiss Government announced plans last week to join its European Union (EU) neighbours in the flight against climate change, proposing new regulations and targets for Co2 reductions.
Switzerland plans to lower carbon emissions by at least 20% by 2020, a yearly reduction of 1.5%.
Longer term, a more ambitious goal of a 50% reduction by 2050 is under consideration, bringing Switzerland in to line with EU objectives to limit future warming to only 2 degrees centigrade. Switzerland is not currently a member of the EU, although the Swiss frequently harmonise legislation with the EU on important international issues.
Whilst these objectives have been approved by the Swiss Government cabinet, they must still go before the Swiss parliament before becoming law. Further proposals, such as a fully carbon neutral Switzerland are also due for debate.
Dear Readers,
Our goal this week was to help , bring you eye to eye with people of many nationalities to explore what environmental issues motivate each of us to care and inspire us to take action.
In case you missed it or are coming back for more, here’s our week in review:
Sam Aola Ooko offered a Kenyan perspective from the streets of Nairobi.
Pem Charnley reflected on the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the UK and its implications for the world and environment.
Mark Seall went to the Swiss Alps, wondering why the idea of personal responsibility for the environment is lacking, then to the streets of Switzerland for a taste of some real attitude.
At EcoWorldly this week, we’ve been focusing on environmental attitudes around the world. Attitudes to the environment can vary widely - I know this, due to the mixture of emails and comments that I often receive in response to blog posts. But beyond the Internet, how are environmental issues perceived out on the street?
In the interest of bringing EcoWorldy readers the most up to date and worldly information, I’ve undertaken a small, and totally un-scientific survey of the Swiss population by asking a small number of random people random questions about their attitudes towards the environment and environmentalism.
It’s often hard to be green. I have recently written elsewhere about the phenomena of Greenwashing, pointing to recent research showing that consumers rarely get what they sign up for out of green products. Wary of this, Swiss supermarket chains are launching new initiatives to provide better consumer guarantees for lowering the environmental impact of their purchases, making it just a little easier to be a good green citizen.
Switzerland’s two major supermarket rivals, Migros and Coop have launched different schemes – although potentially confusing for customers, this is at least an indication that competition for greenness is heating up.
"It looks like the days of skiing on South facing slopes are numbered" remarked the skier to his companion over an apres ski beer in the Swiss resort of Toggenburg. As the two observed the mixture of mud, grass and snow on the slower ski runs on a February afternoon, they murmured about the regretful advance of climate change, the impacts of which were occurring before their very eyes.
Sitting at the table opposite, and having previously wiped mud from my skis for the first time ever, I observed the pair finish their drinks as they continued to discuss the impending catastrophe, before tottering across the car park and jumping in to a large BMW SUV, apparently oblivious to their own part in the play. Similar scenes are replayed daily the world over. Many people agree that human-kind is having a negative impact on our environment, but few are taking direct action. - more on this later.
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